


Kiss Kiss Fall In Love

by Jasper_Ghost



Category: The Outsiders - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, TW for reference of homophobia, They're "secretly" gay, but who's to say they are, school fair, with a hint of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26522068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jasper_Ghost/pseuds/Jasper_Ghost
Summary: TW FOR MENTION OF HOMOPHOBIA---Prompt credit goes to spunsugarmusings on Tumblr!---Darry only had to drop off Pony at the school fair for extra credit. However, when a certain booth caught his eye, he couldn't help but stay a little longer.
Relationships: Darrel Curtis/Two-Bit Mathews
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Kiss Kiss Fall In Love

Darry glanced around the cluttered gym, face scrunched up with faint judgement. He held the heavy door open for Ponyboy and followed close behind him to make sure he got to his booth OK. The lights were dimmed and the noise was loud, teens and younger siblings running around them. 

“Track’s really forcin’ you here?” he questioned his brother, eyes dropping down to him. There were a lot of people here, and many more outside on the football field where many more game booths were. He already saw a lot of madras jackets from the few seconds; he didn’t want his kid brother to get hurt for some kind of sick joke. “You don’t need the extra credits, yeah?”  
  


“I _do_ need them,” Ponyboy said with an annoyed huff, just wanting his brother to leave him alone. Darry was hovering over him like an overprotective parent, it was infuriating, especially in front of his entire school population. “If I don’t do this, I get kicked off the team,” he frowned, speaking the probability made a nervous weight settle on his stomach. “Leave me alone, I’ll be home ‘round supper.”

  
Darry rolled his eyes and kept close, uncomfortable staring at the Socs they passed and the booths they gathered around, chatting happily amongst themselves. Girls were dressed in their best clothes, hair styled in curls and being twirled around a finger as they stared dreamily at their boyfriends. Boys were marching around cockily, fooling around with hidden booze with their scattered buddies, sneaking off with them occasionally to get a sip of vodka from a flask. Jeez, where were the chaperones? He couldn’t see any adults around beside himself. Granted, the less adults around, the better, he guessed. When he was in high school, he would’ve had so much fun with the less judgemental eyes on him. Teachers loved finding dirt on him, meaning he always had to put on a mask at these kinds of functions, avoid his buddies on the football team, so he wouldn’t get in trouble for just high school fun.

Once they made it to the face painting booth, Darry stopped his brother before he could sneak off, his hand grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. Ponyboy looked annoyed to have been stopped, his lips pulled into a frown as he stared up at him. 

“What? Let me go,” he sighed, shrugging off the hand. He already felt eyes on him from his peers. It was embarrassing. He wasn’t a toddler anymore, he didn’t need to be stopped and questioned every few minutes. However, his eyebrows soon shot up slightly when Darry handed him some cash, a smile breaking his cold expression. “Oh.”

“Use that for food only. If you have a bit extra afterward, play a game or two. Just don’t go crazy,” Darry chuckled, nudging him off towards his station. “Have fun, kiddo.”

Ponyboy cracked a smile, then ran off to go set up his face paints and brushes. Finally, Darry could leave this place. 

A cool look was plastered on his face as he walked off, yet his eyes kept finding themselves attached to the signs above the attractions that were crammed into the smelly gym-- clearly the school didn’t care to spray some air freshener before decorating and inviting kids in. The signs were bright, colorful, and clearly eye-catching with their punny names and designs, as he kept accidentally bumping into people while distracted. However, one sign made him stop, eyebrows raised with how amusingly _plain_ it was. It was a few pieces of notebook paper glued together, and the words “Kissing Booth 50¢” written poorly with red crayon, hearts scribbled around the words. 

Under the sign sat a smirking redhead, leaning over the desk he had set up for his booth, flirting with some girl nearby who seemed to go along with what he was saying just for pure entertainment. Of course Two-Bit would have that kind of booth. Ever since him and Kathy broke it off, he’s been looking for a girlfriend every chance he could. Seemed like there was no success in this attempt. 

He waited a moment before he walked up to the booth, not wanting to interrupt the “very important” conversation the other man was having. 

“Well, what do we have ‘ere?” he teased, making the other man jump in his fold-out chair, eyes snapping up to meet Darry’s.

Immediately, Two-Bit relaxed, glad it wasn’t a teacher catching him with his poor excuse of a booth. He kicked back in his chair, feet up on the table in a cool manner. “Howdy, Darry!” he shouted, happy to finally see a close buddy there. “Welcome to my booth, it’s a real catch! Made five bucks already.”

“So ten girls were lucky, huh?” 

“Yeeeup!” Two-Bit boasted, but that proud expression soon fell into a shy grin. “Well, most girls gave me money to leave ‘em alone. Money’s money, though.”

Darry chuckled, giving a small nod of agreement. Money was money. At least he wasn’t stealing and getting in trouble for once. “So why’re _you_ even here? You ain’t bein’ forced here by some club I don’t know about, yeah?” he asked curiously, unable to find a good reason why the other man would be there at a booth and not horsing around and having fun with friends. It didn’t make sense. 

“Ah, well don’t I got a story for you then,” Two-Bit sang. “It all started because--”

“C’mon, Two. I ain’t stayin’ here longer than I gotta.”

“Oh, boo.”

“Get on with it.”

Two-Bit gave an exaggerated sigh, swinging his legs off the table, feet hitting the floor with a small thump that could barely be heard above the chatter and music from other booths. “Alright, so _maybe_ I wanted to get some extra credits to graduate junior year,” he admitted, earning a snort from Darry. He frowned, “I mean it, Darry. Sure, I love it here. It’s my element, my second home--”

“More like your third.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah. But I wanna get outta here eventually, I need more time to myself. Can’t have unfinished homework weighin’ me down,” he explained, eyes glued to Darry’s with a seriousness that Darry couldn’t tell was fake or not. It almost seemed wrong to be true. “So, I managed to sweet-talk one of my teachers into givin’ me a spot here for extra credits in her class, since she’s my worst class right now, I think.”

“You have a ‘worst class’?” Darry asked, humored by that thought.

“Yeah! I actually _try_ in some of my classes.”

“ _Some_.”

Two-Bit pretended to be shocked, his mouth agape with his brow furrowed. “You don’t think I try sometimes?” he sassed, shooting up from his chair with a frown pulling tight on his lips.

God, Darry couldn’t take the other man seriously. He was that much shorter than him that any ounce of threat he had, was immediately diminished by his short stature. This always happened when they got huffy with each other. All hostility with him was lost as soon as Two-Bit tried to square up against him.

A good-natured laugh left his lips, and he shook his head. “It’s just a little surprising. I know that when you put your mind to it, you accomplish a great deal of stuff,” he said, remembering the other’s switchblade that he knew was tucked in his back pocket, the blade shiny and sharp, able to slice paper in half in a quick second with a nice sound. Granted, he’d never use it.

“Oh,” Two-Bit chuckled awkwardly, adjusting his shirt and relaxing before sitting back down. A smile returned to his lips after he cleared his throat, dimple forming on one of his cheeks from his smile being pulled slightly to one side more than the other. “Well, uh. Yeah, that’s why I’m here.”

Darry nodded. “And how’d you get this booth approved?”

“I lied.”

Ah, well. Darry could’ve guessed that. Some girls during his senior year tried doing this exact same thing, only with a better-looking booth and a higher price for a vanilla-scented kiss-- or two, if you were popular or attractive in their eyes. It got shut down quickly before they even got ten dollars since they put their booth down as a kissing booth, not something else. God forbid the spread of cooties.

“What did you put yourself down for then?” he decided to ask.

“Darts. Nobody likes darts,” Two-Bit hummed, his smile getting more relaxed, spreading into its more natural look. “No teacher has came to check on me yet since I’ve set up. I’m gooolden. I get extra credit without doin’ anything! It’s paradise.”

Darry gave a laugh, a deep laugh that was rare to hear, sounding exactly like his father’s. It felt good to laugh that way since it had been a while since he was humored like that. Only Two-Bit had that ability, which he was silently thankful for. Always could he go to him to loosen up and have a good laugh. “I bet it is,” he agreed, imagining a life where he didn’t have to work but could still earn enough for bills and other payments. It _would_ be paradise. However, that reminded him, he had to go. It was seven, and he had to be ready for his night shift an hour or so after. 

To humor Two-Bit, he slipped his wallet out from his pocket and took out a dollar, placing it on the plastic tablecloth in front of the redhead. Immediately, Two-Bit’s eyes went wide, his pale freckled cheeks earning a red hue to them. He laughed it off, of course. Darry could joke around too, he knew that. 

“Now you better take that back, Curtis,” he warned, forcing a playful tone, pushing the bill back towards Darry’s side of the table. 

“No. Keep it,” Darry hummed, putting his wallet back in his pocket, finalizing the action.

“You _do_ remember what this booth is, yeah?”

“Yes, I do. But no need to give me anything in return.”

“I gotta though,” Two-Bit said, standing up again, now making Darry nervous. Maybe he should’ve left right after he put down the dollar, but then he wouldn’t get the satisfaction of Two-Bit’s reaction. Yet, this reaction wasn’t the one he expected. Not the serious stare from before, the same one where he couldn’t tell if it was sincere, not the hand curling into the front of his shirt to tug him down to Two-Bit’s height. His face felt so hot, his eyes bulging from his sockets. Two-Bit kept pulling him closer, their noses barely touching before he barked out a laugh and let go of the shirt, the fabric now slightly wrinkled from the tight grip. 

“You didn’t think I was gonna do it, were you?” he snickered when Darry kept his face level with his, clearly out of it from the sudden action, mind trying to catch up with time, lagging behind by a minute. “Darry, c’mon. Don’t tell me your brain fell out your ass.”

Darry suddenly blinked out of his thoughts, or well, more like his halt of thoughts. “Uh, sorry. What?” he laughed, his cheeks pink. 

“Did your brain fall out your butt?”

“What? No.”

“Seems like it did. Can smell the brain matter from ‘ere,” Two-Bit snickered, earning a small shove from Darry. “Hey!”

“Now to think I was gonna let ya kiss me,” Darry tutted, the other’s face immediately snapping into a look into surprise, a laugh forcing itself from his throat. He could feel his pulse thumping hard in his veins. He didn’t expect the tables to suddenly be turned on him. “Oh, now why have _you_ gone all silent?” Darry asked, cocking an eyebrow with a playful smile at the flabbergasted expression. How could a simple comeback to a joke make him so shocked?

Two-Bit’s hand returned to the front of Darry’s shirt, and he pulled him back over with all his strength, smushing their lips together without much running through his head. He felt hands pressed flat against his chest, trying to push him away, and they were successful, their faces deep reds as they stared at each other.

“I gotta go,” Darry cleared his throat, speed-walking away from the booth, not caring if he accidentally knocked into people, no apologies being muttered to the teens shouting at him in annoyance. The shouts were echoed behind him a second time, a set of footsteps louder than all the rest around him trailing behind him. Even the heavy click of the gym doors was doubled. Two-Bit was following him.

Hands pulled at Darry’s arm, stopping him before he could step onto the blacktop of the parking lot. A hushed apology came from Two-Bit, his grip tight on his arm, his palms slick with nervous sweat. “C’mon, please. I’m sorry, Darry,” he whined, his voice high, panicky. Almost like a voice crack, but it lasted much more than a second or two.

“People could’ve _seen_ that,” Darry snapped, tugging at his arm to remove himself from the other’s sweaty clutches. “You know what they do to men that kiss each other? Date? Want to marry?”

“Well. Uh, yeah--”

“Then why in the hell would you do that in front of your whole school. No doubt someone saw and the word is spreadin’ fast in that gym,” he shouted, his face remaining turned away from the redhead, his whole body tense. “They’re gonna hurt you then me, or worse, we get killed.”

“I’m _sorry_. It was only for a joke,” Two-Bit attempted to reason, his hands slipping to the other’s wrist, not wanting to lose his friend. 

“All you do is joke, yet you got jack goin’ on in your head. There’s no filter. None. Absolutely none. You’re worse than Pony. You don’t _think_. You never do.”

Two-Bit felt like he was stabbed through the heart, removing his hands like Darry was made of acid. Usually, those words were thrown around for a joke. An actual joke. Clearly a change in tone can really change the true meaning of simple words. His throat all of a sudden swelled shut, his eyes round with surprise and hurt. All that could manage to leave his lips was a strained, “Oh.”

That’s finally what brought Darry to look at him, his eyes full of anger but there was something else there: fear. He finally realized the effect the words he just allowed to spew from his mouth in a fight or flight response. Two-Bit look like how he did when Kathy and him broke up. Lost and hurt. The only difference was betrayal added on top of the two. Darry immediately recoiled, feeling bad for even letting the words fall from his brain and out his mouth. 

“Wait, Two,” he said, his voice softer now, having realized he screwed up big. He reached for him and forced him into a hug, taking a cautious glance around only after he had the other man in his arms. He was only met with further regret when he didn’t feel a returned embrace; Two-Bit’s hands dangling heavily at his sides. “I’m sorry, buddy.”

The apology didn’t reach Two-Bit’s ears, his mind repeating the other’s insult over and over again in his head, saving it to the filing cabinet of things his mind crawls to when he crawls to alcohol. He was sure no one saw them in the gym, but he could be wrong-- he was wrong a lot. Darry was probably right. The news probably spreading like a wildfire, maybe reaching the kids out on the football field. Then the news could reach Darry’s work somehow. Oh, God. He felt his stomach twist uncomfortably. “I feel sick,” he whispered, tilting his head forward to hide his face in Darry’s chest. He felt hands rubbing his back in small circles in response to the weak words. It felt dizzying to think about all the outcomes from just one person seeing them kiss; it made his stomach slosh uneasily. He really felt sick. The bile was already scratching the front of his throat. He’s so stupid. Why did his brain just now have to start thinking and going into overdrive and make him feel even more awful?

Darry kept rubbing Two-Bit’s back, holding him close to comfort him. He didn’t mean what he did, he knew that now. 

“You want me to bring you to the bushes?” he asked, soft enough to sound caring, loud enough to be heard. Two-Bit nodded.

He kept close to him as he helped him to the bushes in front of the main entrance of the school, sitting down beside him with his legs tucked under him. He knew he should be getting ready for work just about then, having maybe a half-hour or less before his shift started. But he didn’t want to leave Two-Bit there, broken. That’d be wrong of him. His hand continued to rub circles into his friend’s back, watching his pale face and his dazed expression. Clearly, his body wanted to throw up, but it wasn’t letting him. He’s seen that look many times on him in front of the toilet after a night of drinking. 

“Ain’t comin’ up?” Two-Bit nodded, leaning against Darry’s shoulder like a pile of bricks collapsing. 

“You wanna go home?” Two-Bit nodded. 

“My place?” he hesitated, but he nodded again. 

Darry felt himself smile a little. Maybe he was making up for his mistake now. He helped his friend stand and let him use him as a crutch. “Did you drive here?” he asked just to know if he had to make another trip back to the school for the other’s car. Thankfully, Two-Bit shook his head. That makes it easier on him.

He helped sit him in the passenger seat of his truck, staring at his face for a moment before he shut the door. Two-Bit was off in some other world, his face neutral but full of worry. He sighed and gave him a peck on the cheek, shutting the door and heading to the driver’s side and climbing in. He felt eyes on him as he started the ignition. Without having to look he knew it was Two-Bit. 

“Why’d you do that?” came his weak sounding voice.

Darry began to pull out of the school parking lot. “Just wanted to do it. Couldn’t help myself,” he hummed, looking at the other man with a soft smile. Two-Bit first looked just as panicked before, but suddenly a smile of his own broke out on his face, his cheeks regaining a rosy color.

“Oh,” he chuckled.

“Yeah.”

After they left the school, worry melting off them both, Two-Bit leaned over when they were stopped at a traffic light and pressed his lips to the other’s cheek. It was a little sloppy, having done it so suddenly, but it still made Darry’s chest feel warm, a dopey smile pulling at his lips. He turned to ask what the kiss was for, but then his lips were caught in another kiss, warm hands cupping his face. 

They got a little carried away, Darry’s hands leaving the steering wheel to tangle his fingers loosely in the other’s orange, greasy hair, bringing Two-Bit closer. A sudden honk behind them finally brought them back to the real world, both their faces tingling with heat. However, by the time Darry snapped his attention back to the road, the light had alright changed back to red, earning more honking from behind his truck. The two of them didn’t seem to mind the accident, as Two-Bit tugged Darry back into another kiss, a quick giggle leaving him before their lips met again.

Darry kept an eye on the light this time, pulling away from Two-Bit reluctantly so he would no longer get honked at and drive, but a comforting hand remained on his denim-clad knee, making a smile be permanently glued to his face. Who knew smiling could feel so good?

“So, does this mean you forgive me a little?”

“Five kisses in and you’re just now askin’ that?” Two-Bit snorted, squeezing the other’s knee affectionately.

Darry’s face grew red. “I, well, yeah. I don’t know all that’s goin’ on in that head of yours.”

“You got a point there,” Two-Bit hummed, relaxing against the car seat. “Well, I do forgive ya. Just so you don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”  
  


“Thanks.”

“Mhm.”

Teal eyes shifted over to meet gray eyes for a moment, and Darry grinned. “How ‘bout you stick around until I’m home from work at twelve?”

Two-Bit didn’t even have to think before he agreed, smiling wide enough to show the chipped canine he got from a beer bottle cap. “I don’t gotta clear my schedule for that. What’re you plannin’?”

“Maybe me and you can do this stuff more?” he asked, referring to the kissing and being all close to each other. “And you can sleep with me?”

“Woah, didn’t expect you to be the fast type.”

“I mean _sleep_.” 

Two-Bit chuckled. “Suuure you did. But I still accept.”

“Good.”


End file.
